I Caught Myself
by talkingnightingale
Summary: Tyler Lockwood's new adoptive sister, Alex Shay, moves to Mystic Falls and befriends the gang. But even she has a few secrets of her own. But, in Mystic Falls, who doesn't?


** 1. 16 Candles**  
>"<em>Sixteen candles make a lovely light, But not as bright as your eyes tonight.<em>" - Sixteen Candles, The Crests

Today is my 16th birthday. I would say 'sweet sixteen,' but I'm not sweet. Not at all.  
>It is my first birthday in Mystic Falls, Virginia. Miles away from where I grew up in Fairfax and basically just a podunk little town. I just got adopted by the "royal family" of Mystic Falls, The Lockwoods. Richard, the mayor, his wife Carol and their only son, football star and resident bad boy Tyler...<br>And they have no clue it's my birthday...  
>"I can't believe this. They fucking forgot my birthday."<br>Wiser words have never been spoken. Thanks, Samantha Baker, aka Molly Ringwald circa 1984.  
>It's not like it really matters anyway. It's not like I have lots of friends or family to even celebrate it with to begin with...<br>The only person I've ever trusted, my best friend Madeline, in my life is dead. My mom is a space cadet, strung out on drugs and my father, whoever he may be, is totally absent from my life...  
>It's also the day before my first day of high school at Mystic Falls High School. It's barely three months into the year, so I don't count on being noticed at all. I don't plan on making any solid friends either. I just need two more years and I'm gone...<br>As soon as I'm 18, I'm done with this place. I'm done with the Lockwoods, Mystic Falls and even Virginia...  
>Where am I going, you ask?<br>I'm going to New York, but that's another story...

"Alexandria, Tyler, come and get breakfast!" Carol, my new adoptive mom, called up the stairs.  
>"I'll be right down." I called back through my open door, as I stood in front of my mirror, just staring at myself.<br>I was 16 now, but nothing had changed overnight, of course. I was still the same...  
>Bright reddish-orange hair, forest green eyes, same oval face, big nose, thin upper lip and full lower lip. Same old Alexandria Katherine Shay-Lockwood...<br>My fingers danced across my heart-shaped necklace and skimmed across my sides, smoothing my jeans and t-shirt. My hair was pulled back in a simple bun, my fringe bangs covering most of my pale forehead. I had lined my eyes with black liner, perfecting my cat eye technique.  
>I think about what my mom used to say to me: "Alexandria, you've got so much potential to be beautiful like I was. It just takes the right amount of makeup and you could get any man to fall down at your feet." She said this to me when I was nine, as she smoked a cigarette and showed me how to put on eyeliner. I could still see the memory in my mind's eye...<br>My mind wandered. Where was my Mommie Dearest on this day? Did it occur to her that exactly sixteen years ago today she gave birth to the daughter who "ruined both her career and her life?" Was she dead? Was she high or drunk already? Was she even thinking of me?  
><em>No. Probably not.<em> I decided, as I toyed with my heart-shaped necklace. "_I told you! No wire hangers, ever!_" I murmured to myself with a smile as I checked over my soft pink lipstick before heading downstairs...  
>At the table, Richard, my adoptive father, was drinking coffee and reading the paper. He was tall with dark hair and looked every bit the mayor of this small town. He saw me and smiled slightly. "Good morning, Alexandria."<br>"Good morning to you, too. But could you please call me Alex?" I requested, sitting down next to him at the breakfast nook.  
>"I'll try to remember that." He responded, returning back to his paper. I heard a distinct thumping sound coming down the stairs. Thump-thump-thump-thump. It was my adoptive brother, Tyler, coming down the stairs. I could feel him behind me as he stepped right into the kitchen, avoiding his father. He came in moments later with his mother at his side.<br>Carol smiled when she saw me. "Good morning, dear."  
>"Good morning to you, Carol." I replied, stirring sugar and cream into my coffee nonchalantly.<br>"Did you sleep well?" she asked and I nodded as she set a plate of eggs and bacon down in front of me. Tyler sat down across the table from me and dug into his plate.  
>"Yeah, my bed's great. Thank you." I replied "And this brunch is amazing." She beamed and skirted back into the kitchen.<br>"Good morning, Tyler." I said, looking across the table at him. He barely lifted his deep brown eyes to meet mine, he only nodded.  
>"Tyler, be polite, would you?" Richard said to his son, who promptly rolled his eyes "Hi." he said, between bites of bacon...<br>Brunch went by painfully slow and awkwardly, with small talk and politic discourse that had me confused and feeling like I was dumb.  
>Shortly thereafter, I excused myself to go unpack more things that had to be unpacked... I really didn't have to many more boxes to unpack, but I needed to get out of there. And fast.<br>I turned on my iPod on its dock, making sure it wasn't too loud before looking around the huge room. It had white walls with gray and black furniture. I had two nightstands on either side of my queen-sized bed that had white sheets. One nightstand was black with a study lamp and the other had a regular, fancy lamp. It had obviously been a guest room for a couple before I moved in. Now, it was mine. I had even put pictures in the white frames above the bed's headboard.  
>My pictures were ones of me and my best friend, Mads and a few of her son, Gregory. I smiled as I ran my fingers across the pictures before going back to putting more clothes into my dresser drawers...<br>Around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, there was a tapping at my door. I turned to see Tyler standing in my doorway. "Uh, hi, what's up, Tyler?" I asked him.  
>"So, uh, this girl at school, Caroline, is having a party tonight at Mystic Grill and I, uh, figured you could join me and meet new people." He said. I was surprised. Tyler had been slightly cool towards me since I'd moved in last week, so this was a new development.<br>"Uh, yeah, sure. I'd love to." I said, considering the fact that his parents had probably asked him (or made him) offer to take me.  
>"Okay, cool. We'll head out around 6, alright?" He asked and I nodded. He left and I looked into my full-length mirror. I was still in my jeans, barefoot and my favorite t-shirt. I slipped on my Vans, checked my wallet and phone. No texts, but I wasn't expecting anything.<br>I slipped my wallet into my pocket. It stuck right out, but I didn't care. I went downstairs and we all had dinner, except for Richard, who was still at the office. Shortly thereafter, Tyler and I hopped into his truck and drove off...

Mystic Grill was a cool and casual place. I came in mere steps behind Tyler and as soon as I crossed the threshold, I could feel in the pit of my stomach a bad feeling. Something wasn't going to go well tonight, for someone. Tyler found some friends and I instantly was left by myself. A pretty blonde came up to me. She was wearing a purple dress and had a very effervescent personality. My gut told me she was a good person.  
>"Hi, are you new in town? I'm Caroline Forbes." she said, offering her hand for a shake. I shook it and smiled.<br>"Yeah, I'm Alex Shay." I responded and she lit up.  
>"Oh, you're Tyler's new sister." She stated and I nodded.<br>"Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you. Isn't this your party?" I asked, changing the conversation.  
>"Yes, it is. And nice to meet you too, Allie." She said, almost absently, looking around the room for someone.<br>"Uh, my name's Alex." I reminded her patiently but all she did was ignore me, waving her friend over. A dark-haired girl with dark eyes came over.  
>"Hi." she said, looking at me "I'm Bonnie Bennett."<br>"Hello. Alex Shay." I said, shaking her hand.  
>"Nice to meet you, welcome to Mystic Falls." she said, smiling as Caroline eyed her necklace.<br>"Thanks so much." I responded and before Bonnie could speak, Caroline cut us off saying, "Can you give us a minute, Allie?"  
>I nodded and stepped away, walking over to the bar. I stood beside a man with dark hair and ordered a Coke.<br>"Tsk tsk," the man said with a teasing smile "No drinks for you tonight, little lady?"  
>I smiled at him "Thanks, but no." He had amazing blue eyes. I couldn't look at him too long because a sharp pain in my stomach caught me off guard. I winced and the man's brows furrowed "Something wrong?"<br>"Oh, uh, nothing. I'm fine, really." I told him as I accepted my Coke from the bartender, giving him two dollars. I smiled once more at the man before walking away.  
>I wandered over towards a small table where a pretty girl with straight dark hair was sitting.<br>"Hi." I said, "Mind if I sit?"  
>"Oh, yeah, of course." She replied, glancing over at me, taking her eyes off whatever she had been looking at. "Are you new in town?"<br>"Yeah, I'm Alex Shay, I moved in with the Lockwood family." I told her and she nodded.  
>"My name is Elena Gilbert." She responded with a slight smile. "Welcome to Mystic Falls."<br>"Thanks, uh, nice to meet you. Excuse me." She said, excusing herself "I'll see you at school?"  
>"Yes, of course." I replied as she walked off. Something about Elena was different. She seemed to have something serious going on in her mind, and that was okay. I could understand.<br>I stood by myself against a wall and decided I wanted to go outside and find someone I could bum a smoke from...  
>I managed to find a loose cigarette tucked into my wallet and my back-up lighter. I lit the cigarette and inhaled. Slowly letting out a stream of smoke, I reflected on who I'd just met. Caroline was definitely the popular girl, Elena too and probably Bonnie as well. They all seemed close. Caroline really seemed like a little lost girl. Tugging at my insides, I could feel a weird urge to want to protect her or just give her a hug, really.<br>I slid back when I saw a guy carrying Caroline out of the grill. He spoke to a woman with short blonde hair who I assumed was Caroline's mother as well as the sheriff. Two officers walked by me and went into the grill.  
>The doors burst open and some cops came out with a blonde woman. I stepped into the shadows, trying to be quiet. I followed and watched in horror as the blonde attacked them and was even shot a bunch of times by the sheriff before the man from the bar staked her in the heart...<br>My heart was beating like a hammer and I couldn't believe what I'd just seen. That woman was a vampire. And now, she was dead. _Oh. My. God._ This was reality?

I took a few more drags on my cigarette and tried to clear my mind of the images of what I'd seen. I crushed the cigarette butt under my toe and looked up in time to see the man standing there.  
>"It's you." I managed to murmur with a soft gasp.<br>"Yeah, it's me." He said and looked deep into my eyes. "And you're going to forget all about this. It's going to be that you came out for a smoke and you didn't see anything." His blue eyes were dilating and I wasn't sure what the hell he was trying to do.  
>"What the fuck are you trying to do, man?" I asked him and he looked surprised, but then, I punched him in the face. "Seriously? Fuck off." And with that, I ran back inside...<br>That guy was seriously a fucking freak...


End file.
